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Thursday, June 13, 2013

KKB

Back to our regular programme...Seefu Johnny Ng from My Bicycle Shop in Bandar Utama had organised a weekend bikepacking ride.His plan was to cycle from Rasa to KKB and Sungai Chilling.Johnny's ride is a crowd-puller and he's very experienced in handling groups in such cases.On our ownI told Michelle about this and had planned to ride up the Selangor Dam via KKB without joining the crowd.I knew that for a fact, they will be slow in terms of timing due to train transfer and moving up from Rasa.So, our plan was to drive to KKB town and ride up to the Dam after a hearty breakfast.And we did just that! At 06:00am, we rigged up the bikes and packed them into the car and rolled out.We reached KKB at 07:45am and found a nice coffee shop to have our breakfast.The flavour of the day was curry laksa and Lee coffee shop did it really well.I also sat there and had a chat with the shop's owner who told me about the unfortunate incident a few years ago where five people had drowned in one day.I spent four days going to and fro to Sg Chilling and the last body, belonging to a 17-year-old kid was recovered about five days later.

My boy checking out the scene at home..

A moment of doubt...Basically, the ride to Sg Chilling was a gradual climb from KKB town.Its an elevation gain of 474metres in the 28km ride.One of the toughest section was the slope leading to the Selangor Dam Visitor's Centre.The last time I rode here, I had to jump off my Dahon Speed P8 and push. That was of course, with 20kgs of load on the rear pannier.On this ride, we set out on our Dahon Jetstreams. No excess baggage, just some personal items on our backpacks and recovery gear.So, as we slowly approach the bend leading up to the Dam's Visitor's centre, I realised that it didn't take much effort to climb. As a matter of fact, Michelle actually led the way to the centre.Later, I found out that at least two cyclists from Johnny's group had suffered cramps.

The road to Chilling..

I learned that one of the cyclist who was treated for cramps was actually a fella that I had criticized for showing his temper during my organized ride.Same fella was riding his puny little bike and suffered all the way.

The climb to Selangor Dam's Visitor's Centre

At the parking lot near the Dam, we met an old timer, Pak Ayob. He lives in KKB and cycles around the area regularly. The man had a VHF radio strapped onto his chest.We chat a bit and exchanged information.After taking a short rest, we rode off to Sungai Chilling, which is about 5km away from the centre.

At the Kelah sanctuary entrance

Riding into the sanctuary

Chilling out..

The Sg Chilling Kelah Sanctuary charges a nominal fee of RM1 for the public to hike up its 2-kilometre trail.This is a dangerous area which claimed many lives especially unsuspecting campers.I had a chat with a ranger there and found more about camping at the site. It only opens on Fridays through Sundays.Michelle wanted to check out the Pertak trail, so, after a brief rest, we set out to the trail.Kg orang asli Pertak is my preferred bikecamping site.This is also a place where the campsites are secluded and not many people would camp there during weekdays.After riding the trail, we decided to head to the Selangor Dam again.

At a suspension bridge at the sanctuary

Meeting up with old friends...Johnny's group arrived late at the visitor's centre.There were about 30 people. A group that were hanging out near the vending machine were familiar faces.I spoke to Johnny and several other cyclists.And as I was riding in, one of the guys wearing a Union Jack nutcase helmet was staring at me.Then, another fat dude who walked past me did the same.I caught up with Radzi, a regular cycling kaki of mine and asked if he did okay. He had to sweep the rest of the group and told me that two guys had suffered cramps.Then, I met this Malay dude, he had muscle oinment all over him."Eh, macam ada mamat kaki cramp aje???," I teased. I saw his embarrassed face and went on with my conversation with the rest of the guys. I told them that the Kelah sanctuary was packed and that the offroad track was wet.

With blogger Sin, sweeper Radzi and ride leader Johnny

We left the Dam and rolled downhill.It was a fast and furious affair as it took us less than 15-minutes to do so.Once in KKB town, we packed up our bikes and walked towards a stall in the hawker centre.There, the main attraction was the "yee man taufoo" and "mui choy chee yuk".

Kuala Kubu Baru at last!

The one-hour wait for lunchThe stall where we ate was famous.There was a huge crowd there and our order came an hour later.A family who were eating beside us felt guilty because their food was served before us.Michelle began to show her displeasure and the timing was such, our meals arrived.There was no doubt that they were good, but the service was damn slow!After a good fill, we drove back to our home in Subang Jaya.As for the ride, it was awesome! I think that another ride up to the Gap near Fraser's Hill is in order...